| A | B |
|---|
| direct democracy | all citizens vote in every election |
| representative democracy | system found in the US because we are too big to have a direct democracy |
| naturalization | process by which foreigners can become US citizens |
| Declaration of Intention | first step in the naturalization process |
| Oath of Allegiance | last step in the naturalization process |
| census | population poll taken every 10 years and used to determine each states' representation in Congress |
| Glorious Revolution | overthrow of King James II by Parliament in 1688 |
| common law | system of unwritten laws prevalent more so in Enlgand than in the US |
| House of Burgesses | representative democracy established in Virginia in 1619 |
| Mayflower Compact | established a direct democracy for the colonists in Massachusetts |
| First Continental Congress | sent a list of complaints to King George III of England of how the colonists rights were being violated |
| Second Continental Congress | issued the Declaration of Independence |
| Articles of Confederation | colonists first attempt at self-government following the Declaration of Independence |
| weaknesses of the Articles | Congress had no power to tax, to regulate trade, or to enforce laws. |
| strengths of the Articles | gave Congress power to control the army |
| Constitutional Convention | originally called to amend the Articles of Confederation, but threw it out and created a new document |
| Virginia Plan | called for a bi-cameral Congress with representation based on population |
| New Jersey Plan | called for a uni-cameral Congress with equal representation for all states |
| Great Compromise | established a bi-cameral Congress with one house based on population and the other with equal representation |
| 3/5 Compromise | dealt with how slaves should be dealt with for purposes of taxation and representation |
| Electoral College | established a system by which electors would chose the president |
| Federalists | fought for ratification of the Constitution |
| Anti-federalists | fought against ratification of Constitution because believed it gave the federal govt too much power |
| Preamble | sets out the goals of the US government |
| legislative branch | Congress |
| executive branch | President and cabinet |
| judicial branch | Supreme Court and lower courts |
| checks and balances | allows one branch of government to limit the power of the others |
| Article I | set up legislative branch |
| Article II | set up executive branch |
| Article III | set up judicial branch |
| popular sovereignty | priciple that establishes the peoples right to rule themselves |
| federalism | principle that split the right to rule between the states and the national government |
| enumerated powers | specifically given to the national government by the Constitution |
| reserved powers | specifically given to the states by the Constitution |
| concurrent powers | things tht both the states and the federal governments can do (ex. taxation) |
| supremacy clause | should any state law contradict the Constitution or a federal law, the federal law has higher authority |
| Constitution | the Supreme law of the land |
| Amendment | change in the Constitution. Hard to do, so not done often, but can be done. |
| Necessary and Proper (Elastic) Clause | used to give the government powers that are not specifically in the Constitution (ex - to make the Bank of the US) |
| Bill of Rights | first 10 Amendments to the Constitution |
| First Amendment | Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government |
| Second Amendment | right to bear arms |
| Third Amendment | came as a result of the British quartering soldiers in Americans homes before and during the American Revolution |
| Fouth Amendment | protects from unreasonable search and seizure |
| Fifth Amendment | right not to incriminate oneself and protection from double jeopardy |
| Sixth Amendment | right to trial by a jury of your peers and to have a lawyer |
| Seventh Amendment | deals with civil cases |
| Eighth Amendment | protects against cruel and unusual punishment |
| Tenth Amendment | any right not given to the federal government, or denied to the states, belong to the states |
| slander | limit on free speech. You cannot tell lies about someone else to ruin their reputaion |
| libel | limit of freedom of the press. You cannot print lies about someone |
| Civil War Amendments | 13th, 14th, and 15th |
| 19th Amendment (1920) | gave women the right to vote |
| 13th Amendment (1865) | abolished slavery |
| 2 | number of terms the president can serve according to the 22nd Amendment |
| duties | things we are required to do: pay taxes, jury duty, etc |
| responsibilities | things we should do as US citizens; vote, participate in govt, etc |
| majority | more than half |
| plurality | more than anyone else, but not necessarily more than half |
| US political parties | avoid extremes so as to attract the most voters |
| gerrymandering | making unusually shaped voting district to give one party an advantage over the other |
| straight ticket | voting for candidates all from the same party |
| split ticket | voting for candidates from different parties |
| Name-calling | "Candidate X is a liberal." |
| endorsement | I am Britney Spears, and I am voting for candidate X. You should too" |
| Bandwagon | "everyone is voting for Candidate X, you should too" |
| glittering generalities | "candidate X is the candidate for peace and prosperity" |
| House of Representatives qualifications | must be 25, US citizen for 7 years, and live in state they represent |
| Senate qualifications | must be at least 30, US citizen for 9 years, and representative of state they represent |
| President qualifications | must be at least 35, native born citizen, and US resident for 14 years |
| House of Reps term of office | 2 years |
| Senate term of office | 6 years |
| President term of office | 4 years |
| Supreme Court term of office | life, in good behavior |
| Speaker of the House | most powerful member of the House of Reps |
| Official president of the Senate | Vice President of the US |
| runs Senate day-to-day | President Pro Tempore |
| seniority | basis of membership on Congressional Committees based on years served |
| cabinet | appointed by the President to leas the major departments of the federal govt |
| Executive Office of the President | made up of the President's closest advisors including his chief of staff |
| State Department | plans and carries out the nation's foreign policy |
| Marbury v. Madison | established the Supreme Court's power of judicial review |
| Plessy v. Ferguson | established the policy of "Separate, but equal." |
| Brown v. Board of Education | overturned "separate, but equal" |
| district courts | lowest level of federal court. Hear about 90% of all federal cases |
| John Marshall | Supreme Court Chief Justice who set out policy of judicial review |
| Thurgood Marshall | first African-American Supreme Court justice |
| Sandra Day O'Connor | first woman on the Supreme Court |
| United Kingdom | led by a Prime Minister who is the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons |
| Cold War | dominated foreign affairs for the second half of the 20th century |
| United Nations | tries to settle international disputes before leading to war |
| Containment | US policy to stop the spread of Communism. Led to US involvement in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. |
| Eastern Europe | after WWII, the Soviet Union occupied much of this region of the world |
| Middle East | the region of the world most dominating foreign affairs following the decline of the Cold War in 1991 |
| Full faith and credit clause | requires states to recognize/respect the laws of other states |
